Marking device



M. A. EVERS MARKING DEVICE Aug. 16, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9,1964 INVENTOK MARTIN A. EVERS www w ATTORNEYS Aug. 16, 1966 v s3,266,417

MARKING DEVI CE Filed Oct. 9, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FlG-4 is 4s 83 00 oo c k o Q 00 oo o o o 00 3- oo o oo o 0000 00 oo oo o oo oo oooo o o o oo o oo o o o o oo o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o oo o oo o o oo oooo o o o o o oooooo o@oo@o o@o o o o oo o oo o 000 o oo o o o oo ooooooooooooooooooooo o oooo ooo@oo@ooo o 00 000 000 0000000 0 o 000oooooooooooooooooooo 0000 00 oo@oo@o o 00 00000 o 0000 o oo oo oo o v o0000 000 oc c ooooooo HZ I N VEN TOR.

MARTIN A. EVERS ATTORN EYS 3,266,417 [Ce Patented August 16, 19663,266,417 MARKING DEVICE Martin A. Evers, 282 Annette Drive, Dayton,Uhio Filed Oct. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 402,739 Claims. (61. l41) Thisapplication relates to marking or stamping devices, and moreparticularly, to a device for marking simultaneously a plurality ofarticles prearranged in uniform spaced relationship within a packagingcase or the like.

A common procedure for marking the price on case lot articlesdistributed through retail stores, such as supermarkets and grocerystores, is to price each article individually immediately prior toremoving the article from the case and placing it on display for thecustomer. Generally, this marking is accomplished with the use of a handmanipulated stamping device having selectable numbers on the bottomthereof for presetting according to the desired code, price or the liketo me marked on the article. The stamping device is then carried in onehand back and forth across the rows of articles arranged in the casewith a repetitive and successive hand stamping action on the individualarticles.

This marking procedure has been found to require considerable time onthe part of the person in charge of marking a price on each article, andwhen combined with the repetitive nature of the operation, the procedureresults in a rather costly operation in addition to becoming rathermonotonous. However, it has been observed that this cost of individuallymarking each article has, in time, become accepted as a necessaryoverhead cost for distributing and selling the articles.

It has also been observed that this individual price marking method isused on a wide variety of articles including canned and bottled goods aswell as goods in paper boxes and wrapped pack-ages. Furthermore,frequently the wholesale distributor assumes the task of marking theprice on the articles, and thus often a salesman for the wholesaledistributor is burdened with the job of marking the articles prior toarranging them for the retailers display. As a result, additional timeis required of the salesman in order to set up or complete his display.Then too, the relatively higher hourly cost of a salesmans time whencompared to a stock boys time results in increasing the selling cost ofthe articles. For these reasons, the present invention is directed to adevice which substantially reduces the time and effort for making theprice on articles before removal from the container in which they arepacked, generally referred to herein as a case.

Accordingly, one primary object of the present invention is to provide anovel marking device including a plurality of marking elements which areadapted to mark simultaneously a corresponding top surface of a group ofarticles arranged as a layer within a case.

As another object, the present invention provides a marking device asoutlined above wherein means are provided for adjustably spacing themarking elements in order that the device can accommodate articles ofvarious sizes arranging in spaced relationships depending upon thecustomary manner of packaging the articles within the case.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a markingdevice as outlined above wherein the marking elements are removablyretained on a support member so that each marking element may be easilyremoved and exchanged for a similar marking element having a differentprice or mark thereon.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a markingdevice for stamping the price on a plurality of prearranged articles,wherein the device is adapted for automatic operation as a case layer ofthe articles is moved in step-like successive manner beneath the device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel markingdevice as outlined above wherein means are provided for arranging themarking elements in a cluster to facilitate the quick and easy removalor exchange of the marking elements.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

In the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a marking device according to the invention illustrating a power operated mounting formarking simultaneously the price on a dozen articles of canned goodsarranged as a layer within a case;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the marking device of FIG. 1 showing twelvemarking elements and the directions in which they can be adjustablyspaced;

FIG. 3 is a bottom View of the marking elements in FIG. 2 shown arrangedin a cluster for quick and simple removal or exchange of the elements;

FIG. 4 is an elevational section view of the marking device as viewedalong the line 44 of FIG. 2 and showing the locking mechanism forretaining the marking elements according to a predetermined spacedrelationship corresponding to the spaced relationship of the articleswithin the case;

FIG. 5 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of a typicalholder for a marking element as employed in the device of FIG. 1 andshowing means for removably retaining a marking element as well as aspring biased means for accommodating a slight differential in elevationbetween the top surface of a layer of articles;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a collecting and supporting device to simplifiyremoval and insertion of the marking elements while arranged in acluster shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged bottom view of the marking element and holdershown in section in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an elevational section View of a modified marking elementshowing an alternate means for releasably retaining the element;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of a marking device according to anotherembodiment of the invention and showing the means for adjustably spacingthe marking elements to accommodate the simultaneous marking of articlesof various sizes and arranged in various spaced relationships;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary section view of the support memberemployed in the marking device of FIG. 9 and showing a means forremovably retaining the marking elements to the frame member; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the marking device shown inFIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of theinvention, FIG. 1 shows a marking device including generally a supportmember 15 comprising a frame 16 which serves to support a series oflongitudinal rods 18 and lateral rods 20 spaced at right angles to eachother. At each of the cross-over portions of the rods 18 and 20 ismounted a square tubular holder 22 which supports at the bottom thereofa marking element 25 as shown in the bottom view of FIG. 2.

The marking device shown in FIG. 1 is supported through the brackets 26by a pair of fluid operated pressure cylinders 27 which are adapted tolower automatically the marking elements 25 downwardly until theycontact the top surfaces 29 of a plurality of articles 30 closely spacedto define a layer within the case 32 and then to raise the elements 25to their original starting positions. The articles 30 are typicallyillustrated in FIG. 1 as canned goods, but it is to be understood thatthe term articles as used herein includes any article which may bearranged in a group for economical packaging and shipping. For example,the articles may be bottled, canned or packaged boxes of various shapesand sizes and may be grouped in many various numbers to define a layerwithin a case or the like. Usually, however, the articles are packed inlayers of 12, 24 or 48.

As shown in FIG. 1, for high speed marking it has been found desirableto carry the opened case of articles on a conveyor 35 which passes overa table 36 and is power operated with a step by step movement so thateach layer of articles .pauses directly underneath the marking device toallow sufficient time for the fluid cylinder to move the markingelements downwardly and to mark simultaneously the prices 37 on the topsurface 29 of each of the articles 30. In place of the power operatedbelt conveyor 35, however, a suitable roller type conveyor or othersuitable conveyor means may be satisfactorily employed.

Preferably, the support member 15, including the frame 16, rods 17 and18, and holders 22 is formed from a plastic material having a lowcoefiioient of friction which enables the holders 22 to be moved freelyso that the stamping elements 25 may be easily positioned and spacedwith respect to one another according to the size and spacedrelationship of the articles within the case. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,the ends of the rods 18 and 20 are adapted to slide within grooves 40and 42, respectively, which are formed within the frame 16. The end ofthe rod 18 shown in FIG. 5 is typical of each end of the rods 18 and 20and is formed with a tongue adapted to be received within the grooves 40and 42 and thereby to provide for an easy gliding movement of the rods18 and 20 back and forth within the frame 16.

It can be seen that due to the construction of the support member 15,the rows of holders 22 will always remain in uniformly spacedrelationship with each other and thus provide for quick and simpleadjustment of the marking elements 25. In order to lock the rods 18 and20 in place for preventing shifting of the holders 22 and thus themarking element 25, the bottom of one of the grooves 40 and one of thegrooves 42 is defined by an elongated wedge 47 which is adapted to slideback and forth on the inclined surface 48 to increase or decrease thewidth of the grooves 40 and 42 and thereby to clamp or release thetongues 45 spaced within the grooves. Once the rods 18 and 20 have beenpositioned, the wedge 47 is moved endwise by a knob 52 which isconnected to the wedge 47 by a threaded screw 54 extending from thewedge through the slot 56. Thus by tightening the knob 52, the wedge 47is held firmly in place, and the rods 18 and 20 are prevented fromsliding within the frame 16.

The support member 15 shown in FIG. 1 is assembled by first extendingthe rods 18 and 20 through the openings 58 and 59, respectively, formedwithin the tubular holders 22 in a position as shown in FIG. 1 and thenthe frame 16 is slipped over the tongues 45 on each end of the rods 18and 20, after which the frame retaining screws 62 are inserted. It hasbeen determined that only one end of the rods 18 and 20 need to belocked in order to prevent movement between the marking elements 25.Thus the elongated wedges 47 are mounted in only one end and one side ofthe frame 16, as illustrated by the knobs 52 in FIG. 2. It is to beunderstood, however, that while only three longitudinal rods 18 and fourlateral rods 28 are shown in the marking device of FIG. 1, more or lessrods may be employed depending upon the number of marking elements 25desired.

As shown in FIG. 5, a typical marking element 25 includes an invertedplastic cup 65 having a boss 67 of reduced diameter extending from thetop, and from which extends a stem 69 which is removably retained withina plug 72 by four resilient finger tips 73. Within the cup 65 isfastened a marking tip 75 by a suitable cement. Preferably, the markingtip 75 is formed from a resilient material having a reticulated openpore structure for retaining a supply of ink by capillary action. Forfurther description of such material, reference is made to US. PatentNo. 2,763,208, issued September 18, 1956, and U.S. Patent No. 3,022,542,issued February 27, 1962.

As shown in FIG. '7, the plug 72 is square in configuration and isadapted to slide vertically within the tubular holder 22 but is retainedfor limited travel therein by a set screw 77 extending through a slot 78formed within the holder. Spaced between the top of the plug 72 and apin 81 extending through the tubular holder 22 is a compression spring83 which is adapted to hold the marking element 25 in a biased downwardposition. This resilient mounting of the marking elements 25 permitsuniform marking on a layer of articles having a slight differential inelevation among the top surface 29.

The resilient fingers 73 extending from the stem 69 of the markingelement 25 are so constructed as to permit the marking element to beeasily inserted and removed by a slight detent force. However, duringthe use of the device, the resiliency within the tip 73 is sufiicient toretain the marking elements 25 and to prevent them from dropping out ofthe plug 72. As a result of the sliding rod mounting construction shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, the marking elements 25 may be easily removed byarranging the elements in a cluster as shown in FIG. 3 so that a fingerlike member 85 (FIG. 6) may be employed to slide in between the markingelements 25 around the boss on each element (FIG. 5) whereby all of themarking elements 25 may be removed or inserted at one time. Anotheradvantage of arranging all of the marking elements 25 in a cluster is tosimplify the addition of ink to the marking tips 75. This can beaccomplished simply with the use of a conventional ink pad, roller orother suitable applicator.

Another means for removably retaining the marking elements and toprovide for a resiliency in the mounting of the elements is shown inFIG. 8. Here the marking element 98 includes a stem 92 having a neck 93defined by an elongated tapered portion of reduced diameter which isadapted to receive a ball 95 biased by the spring 96 and retained withinan opening formed in the plug 97 by a set screw 98. This assembly servesas a detent for the stem 93 inserted within the hole 99 formed withinthe plug 97 rigidly connected to the square tubular holder 104 by theset screw 98.

A resilient, washer 106, preferably formed from a sponge-like material,is provided between the cup portion 107 of the marking element 98 andthe bottom of the plug 97 to serve the same purpose as the compressionspring 83 shown in FIG. 5. That is, the resilient washer 106 providesfor an independent upward movement of the marking element 98 in relationto the holder 184 so that the marking device can accommodate slightirregularities in the elevation diiferential among the top surface ofthe articles. It has been found, however, that with many packedarticles, the top surfaces of all the articles is so nearly coplanarthat only a slight resilient means, such as the washer 186 orcompression spring 83, is necessary.

Furthermore, with some articles the inherent resiliency within theporous marking tip 75 is adequate to provide uniform marking of all ofthe articles within the layer.

A marking device according to another embodiment of the invention isshown in FIG. 9 wherein the marking elements 110 are mounted on agenerally flat support member 112 through the openings 114. By providingthe support member 112 with a large number of openings 114 having -adistance D equal to approximately A inch between the centerlines of theopenings 114, it has been found that the marking elements 110 can beadjustably spaced in various arrangements to accommodate substantiallyall articles which are packed to define a layer of a case. For example,the marking elements 110 may be mounted in adjacent openings 114- forthe marking of small spice bottles or in every fourth opening 114 forthe marking of No. 2 cans.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the marking element 110 includes a splitstem 116 defining resilient fingers 117 which are adapted to extendthrough the openings 114 within the support members 112 and aremaintained in perpendicular alignment with the support provided by aboss 120 surrounding each of the openings 114. In this manner, each ofthe marking elements 110 may be easily snapped in and out of engagementwith the support member 112 for exchanging with elements havingdifferent markings thereon or respaced within different openings 114 tocorrespond with a different size article or different spacedrelationship of the articles. A resilient washer 122 serves the samepurpose as the washer 106 shown in FIG. 8, that is, to accommodateslight irregularities in elevation among the top surfaces of thearticles.

Preferably, the support member 112 is formed from a transparent plasticmaterial so that when the marking device is used manually, the operatorcan see the articles spaced below the device and thereby precisely alignthe marking elements 110 with the top surface of the article. Atransparent support member 112 also provides for simple and accuratespacing of the marking elements 110, in that the support member 112 canbe placed directly on top of a case of articles in an inverted manner sothat the marking elements can be inserted through the openings 114directly above the position on the article where the mark is to be made.This is especially helpful where the top surface of the articles isrelatively small, as for example, the caps on a case of catsup bottles.Here for example, the marking elements 110 must be pre cisely spaced inrelation to one another so that the marking elements 110 engagesubstantially the center area of the caps on the bottles. Of course,with the device shown in FIG. 1, the support member is substantiallyopen so that the article within the case below can be observed duringthe arranging and spacing of the marking elements 25.

It can be seen from the drawings and the above description that amarking device according to the present invention provides a number ofadvantages. Specifically, the device can be simply and easily adjustedfor marking articles in a wide variety of sizes which may be packedwithin a case in uniform spaced relationships. For ex ample, the deviceis adaptable for simultaneously marking articles arranged 12, 24 or 48within a single layer. Also, the marking device according to theinvention lends itself to manual operation as well as automaticoperation.

Another important feature of a device according to the invention is thatthe marking elements are removably retained by the support member suchthat the marking elements may be quickly and easily interchanged withother marking elements having different prices or marks thereon. Theresilient mounting of the marking element is considered an additionalfeature of the invention by which the device is adapted to mark articlesarranged in a layer but do not have a top surface lying precisely withina common plane. As a result, the device according to the inventionassures that each article will receive a firm and uniform contact of themarking element on the top surface of the article. The primary feature,however, which is derived from a device according to the invention isthe substantial saving in time required to mark the layers of articlesover the present time-consuming method of successively stampingindividually each article within each layer with a hand operatedstamping device.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitutes preferredembodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention whichis defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for simultaneously marking a plurality of articles uniformlyspaced to define a layer within a packaging case and especially adaptedto mark the selling price on all of the articles simultaneously prior toremoval of the articles fro-m the case, said device comprising a supportmember, a plurality of marking elements corresponding to the number ofarticles to be marked simultaneously, means for mounting said elementson said support member with said elements spaced in a substantiallycoplanar relationship for engaging a corresponding top surface on eacharticle within the layer, and means for adjustably moving each saidelement laterally on said support member while maintaining said coplanarrelationship to space said elements corresponding to the spacedrelationship of the articles within the case for accommodating articlesof various sizes arranged in various spaced relationships.

2. A device for simultaneously marking a plurality of articles uniformlyspaced to define a layer within a packaging case and especially adaptedto mark simultaneously the selling price on the articles prior toremoval of the articles from the case, said device comprising a supportmember, a plurality of holder members corresponding to the number ofarticles to be marked simultaneously, a corresponding plurality ofmarking elements, means for mounting each of said elements on saidmember with said corresponding holder elements spaced in a substantiallycoplanar relationship for engaging a corresponding top surface on eacharticle within the layer, means for movbly mounting each said holdermember on said support member to space said elements on said supportmember corresponding to the spaced relationship of the articles withinthe case for accommodating articles of various sizes arranged in variousspaced relationship, and means for removably retaining each of saidelements on said corresponding holder member to provide for a simplifiedexchanging of said elements with different markings thereon.

3. A marking device as defined in claim 2 including means for lockingeach said holder member in fixed relationship on said support memberafter said holder members are moved to a spaced relationshipcorresponding to the spaced relationship of the articles in the case.

4. A device for simultaneously marking a plurality of articles uniformlyspaced to define a layer within a packaging case and especially adaptedto mark simultaneously the selling price on the articles prior toremoval of the articles from the case, said device comprising a supportmember including a frame having a series of longitudinal rods extendingfrom end to end and a series of lateral rods extending from said toside, a plurality of holders mounted at the cross over portions of saidlongitudinal and lateral rods, a corresponding plurality of markingelements, resilient means for mounting each of said elements on one ofsaid holders with said elements spaced in a substantially coplanarrelationship and adapted to provide a uniform marking on a correspondingtop surface of each article within the layer, means for movably mountingsaid holders on said rods, means for movably mounting said rods in saidframe for adjusting said ele- References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,928,715 10/1933 Wilson 101379 5 2,173,025 9/1939 Parker101-394 2,661,681 12/1953 Fensterrnaker 101-379 X 2,969,734 1/1961 Hall101-368 X DAVID KLEIN, Primary Examiner. 10 WILLIAM F. MCCARTHY,Assistant Examiner.

1. A DEVICE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY MAKING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES UNIFORMLYSPACED TO DEFINE A LAYER WITHIN A PACKAGING CASE AND ESPECIALLY ADAPTEDTO MARK THE SELLING PRICE ON ALL OF THE ARTICLES SIMULTENEOUSLY PRIOR TOREMOVAL OF THE ARTICLES FROM THE CASE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A SUPPORTMEMBER, A PLURALITY OF MARKING ELEMENTS CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OFARTICLES TO BE MARKED SIMULTANEOUSLY, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID ELEMENTSON SAID SUPPORT MEMBER WITH SAID ELEMENTS SPACED IN A SUBSTANTIALLYCOPLANAR RELATIONSHIP FOR ENGAGING A CORRESPONDING TOP SURFACE ON EACHARTICLE WITHIN THE LAYER, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY MOVING EACH SAIDELEMENT LATERALLY ON SAID SUPPORT MEMBER WHILE MAINTAINING SAID COPLANAR